book report for 21 jul 2015

books – 21 jul 2015

Last week, I wrote a little bit about what I was currently reading and how I keep a list of completed books on Goodreads. I also keep one here on my blog.

But my list changes. And here’s what is currently at the top.

This week, I finished three books.

The first, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin, is one that I have had on my library hold list for some time now. Not everyone likes her style of writing and introspection, but I do. She really hits the nail on the head for me often. I have come to better understand and accept myself for who I am through her writing. It’s okay if I do things differently; I’m me. I have to accept myself, yet still expect the best of myself. She gets it.

I picked up Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand: A Novel by Helen Simonson at Tim’s Used Books in Hyannis. THe title and cover grabbed my attention, and I’m glad I picked it up for a “light” read while in Cape Cod. A “love story” about following your heart and taking the moral higher ground.

I have had Wallflower in Bloom: A Novel by Claire Cook on my “to read” list for a long time, but the library doesn’t carry it. Not one that I wanted to read badly enough to buy, I was happy to see it on the “free library” shelf here in our building. A very light read; nice for bedtime when my brain is fried.

I started (barely) a book that I bought at the mall in Hyannis, The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane. I’ve been reading a selection of “walker explorer” books lately, and this one looks like a nice addition to the list.

While on the Cape, I started reading The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price (2nd Edition) by Lynn O’Shaughnessy. I’m still working my way through it, but I’ve already learned a lot. The process has greatly changed sine I applied, and I want to be ready as Camille enters her junior year of high school!!

Yesterday, I headed to the library and Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan was waiting for me. Again, a light book to read when I head to bed. A YA “musical novel”, it is a bit strange to read.

And, finally, while on vacation I started to work through Doing Data Science: Straight Talk from the Frontline by Cathy O’Neil and Rachel Schutt again. The required knowledge is a bit above where I am. I don’t know R well enough (I was hoping the book would step me through R hand-in-hand with the concepts, but no) nor do I know enough statistics (again, I was hoping for a tutorial here as well). I think I might put this one on the shelf and try this one instead: Data Science from Scratch: First Principles with Python by Joel Grus.

I’m still reading The Road to McCarthy: Around the World in Search of Ireland by Pete McCarthy, but since we’re now home from our Irish Adventure, it has gone to the bottom of my pile.